Read Online This Old Souse by Mary Daheim - Free Book Online

in her own kitchen sink. If the Flynns had been liable, they would have been sued into oblivion.
    â€œReally,” Judith said, “this has nothing to do with your store. I wish I could move my car out of your lot, but that’s impossible.”
    â€œYou ought to know,” Phil retorted, then attempted a commiserating smile. “That is, with your husband being an ex-cop, and telling you all sorts of war stories.”
    â€œYes.” Judith knew that Phil was avoiding mention of her own involvement in several homicides on Heraldsgate Hill. The manager wasn’t about to offend one of his best customers.
    The cops, in fact, were driving into the parking lot. They hadn’t turned on their siren or their lights. As Heraldsgate Hill grew in prestige and affluence, discretion had become a byword except for obvious emergencies or when drivers didn’t move their brand-new Beamers out of the way.
    The patrol officers were unknown to Judith. A husky dark-skinned male and a copper-haired female got out of the police car and walked tentatively toward Judith and Phil. So did two women who had just come out of the store and were staring with curious eyes.
    â€œDo you need me?” Phil whispered.
    â€œNo,” Judith murmured. “Only for customer control.”
    â€œGot it,” Phil said, blocking the women’s passage. “Hi, there, Ms. Farris, Ms. Ryan. Nothing to see here, nothing to see here. By the way, did you sample the local strawberries in the kiosk? They just came in this morning.”
    â€œMrs. Flynn?” the female officer inquired. “You reported a corpse. Where is it?”
    Fortunately, Phil had drawn the two women back toward the store. Judith noticed that there was an eager gleam in the young officer’s hazel eyes. Her first body. But not mine . The broad-shouldered Samoan didn’t look any older than his partner. He, too, seemed to be keeping a taut rein on his excitement.
    â€œIn there,” Judith said, pointing to the trunk. “I know I shouldn’t have closed the lid, but I didn’t want to upset people coming through the parking lot. So many parents shop here with their children.”
    The Samoan officer, whose name tag read JASON PAOLUSOPO , looked curiously at Judith. “I see.”
    Judith wondered how much he saw. She caught a quick glimpse of the redhead’s name tag: COLLEEN O ’- DONAHUE . She had her hands pressed to her sides, as if bracing herself. But she didn’t speak.
    â€œIt may be hard to open,” Judith warned Jason. “We’ve had a problem with the trunk lately.”
    â€œI guess,” Jason said under his breath. But he was young and strong. The trunk opened on his first attempt.
    â€œOh!” Colleen cried, clapping her hands to her cheeks. “It is a body! Ohmigod!”
    Seeing the young woman sway slightly, Judith put a steadying hand on her back. “It’s all right. There’s not much blood, at least as far as I can see. I didn’t touch anything, of course.”
    â€œGosh.” Jason had removed his regulation cap and held a hand to his short black hair. “Shouldn’t we have medics here? I mean, maybe he’s not dead. Maybe he just passed out.”
    â€œYes,” Judith said, “medics as well as firefighters should have been sent. I imagine a homicide unit has been dispatched, or soon will be. In fact,” she went on,hearing the rumble of a heavy vehicle coming along the avenue, “here come the firefighters now. If you have crime-scene tape, you’d better cordon the area off at once. We’re already drawing a bit of a crowd.”
    At least a half-dozen people, including two young children, had stopped to see what was going on. Taking a deep breath, Colleen walked over to them and asked that they move back. Jason apparently had gone to the squad car to get the tape.
    â€œSorry,” one of the firefighters apologized as he jumped